Oncology
Team MTT
New Strategies for Targeting of Solid Tumors with Multi-Specific Biologics
Antibody-based therapies have revolutionized cancer treatment, yet their impact in solid tumors remains limited by heterogeneous antigen expression, restricted tissue penetration, and poor intracellular access. At the MTT Team, we believe that overcoming these intrinsic barriers requires a multitargeting strategy, one that acts in concert to blunt resistance mechanisms and convert suppressive tumor microenvironments into immune-permissive, therapeutically responsive ecosystems.
Our mission is to develop a protein-based therapeutic platform for directed tumor killing in treatment-resistant solid cancers. By integrating modular design, disease-tailored targeting, and multi-omic intelligence, we aim to create next-generation biologics capable of precise, coordinated engagement of multiple tumor vulnerabilities, driving durable immune activation and, ultimately, tumor eradication.
Mentors
- Dr. Masato Hata (Industry mentor)
Deputy Head of Research Institute Munich at Daiichi Sankyo Europe, Germany - Dr. Yusuke Ogitani (Industry mentor)
Head of Group II, Discovery Research Laboratories V at Daiichi Sankyo, Japan - Dr. Daisuke Nishimiya (Industry mentor)
Head of Group II, Modality Research Laboratories II at Daiichi Sankyo, Japan
Team Location BioMed X Institute Heidelberg
The research of this team is kindly supported by Daiichi-Sankyo.
Dr. Mohamed-Reda Benmebarek
Group Leader
Short Bio
- 2010-2013: Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry at King’s College London, UK.
- 2014-2015: Master of Research in Translational Cancer Medicine at King’s College London, UK.
- 2016-2020: PhD candidate in Cancer Immunotherapy focused on cell therapy and bispecific antibody development at the LMU, Munich, Germany.
- 2020-2021: Postdoc in Cancer Immunotherapy working on modular cellular therapy approaches at the LMU, Munich, Germany.
- 2021-2025: Postdoc investigating liver cancer, its microenvironment and multitargeting strategies for its treatment, National Cancer Institute (NCI), NIH, Bethesda, USA.
Dr. Andreas von Kries
Postdoctoral researcher
Short Bio
- 2021 – 2025: PhD Candidate in Cancer Immunology, Mannheim Institute for Innate Immunoscience (MI3), Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University
- 2018 – 2021: Master of Science, Molecular Medicine, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
- 2014 – 2018: Bachelor of Science, Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Hochschule Biberach
Dr. Anastasija Pejkovska
Postdoctoral Researcher
Short Bio
- 2019 – 2025: DKFZ/KiTZ, University of Heidelberg. PhD and bridging postdoc in group of Dr. Ana Banito. Epigenetic de-regulation driven by fusion oncoproteins in sarcomas.
- 2017-2019: IMPRS Molecular Biology, University of Göttingen. MSc in molecular biology. Research projects on phase separation in meiosis; epigenetically-driven signalling in HER2+ breast cancer; inducible protein degradation in B cells.
- 2016-2017: Jacobs University Bremen. Research assistant in group of Prof. Dr. Klaudia Brix. Role of kallikrein proteases in the thyroid gland.
- 2013-2016: Jacobs University Bremen. BSc in Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Bachelor thesis in group of Prof. Dr. Klaudia Brix. Role of kallikrein proteases in thyroid cancer models.
Anastasia Maria Alekseev
PhD Student
Elizaveta Savochkina
PhD Student
Short Bio
- 2022 – 2025: Research assistant in Team TMI at BioMed X, Heidelberg, Germany
- 2016 – 2022: Research assistant in the Physiology of Nutrition Laboratory, Pavlov Institute of Physiology RAS, Saint Petersburg, Russia & research assistant in the Almazov National Medical Research Centre of Cardiovascular Diseases (in several laboratories), Saint Petersburg, Russia
- 2014 – 2016: Master of Biological Sciences with a major in cell biology, histology, and immunology, Saint-Petersburg State University, Russia
- 2010 – 2014: Bachelor of Biological Sciences with a major in cell and molecular biology and biotechnology, Saint-Petersburg State University, Russia